George Osborne was attacked today after inviting Chinese firms to start bidding to build the new high speed rail line – before MPs have even agreed to sign off the project.

The Chancellor, in China for a week-long trip to deepen economic ties with the Asian giant, announced almost £12billion of work was up for grabs.

MPs and campaigners today slammed the 'premature' announcement and questioned why jobs were being handed to Chinese firms rather than British rivals.

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The Chancellor, in China for a week-long trip to deepen economic ties with the Asian giant, announced almost £12billion of work on Britain's HS2 was up for grabs

Mr Osborne leaves Turpan, north west China where he paid a private visit to the ancient ruins of the Silk Road settlement Yar City dating back three thousand years

The £43 billion scheme to connect London to Birmingham and Manchester has come under fire because of the cost and impact on the countryside.

However Mr Osborne has insisted it is crucial to 'rebalance' the economy away from London.

Speaking on the last leg of his trade mission to China, the Chancellor urged Chinese companies to start bidding for seven contracts, worth £11.8 billion, to build bridges and tunnels on the first phase of the line between London and Birmingham.

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The milestone step - taken before the HS2 Bill has completed its passage through Parliament - was announced by the Chancellor in the Chinese city of Chengdu.

He said: 'This Government is committed to rebalancing our economy and building a Northern Powerhouse, and improving transport links and launching HS2 is key to supporting long-term economic growth across the North and Midlands,' the Chancellor said.

The £43 billion scheme to connect London to Birmingham and Manchester has come under fire because of the cost and impact on the countryside

Mr Osborne visits an industrial area in the city of Urumqi in north west China, after he became the first serving government minister to travel to Xinjiang province

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin described the announcement as 'a major step towards construction on HS2 getting under way in two years' time'. He said new high-speed trains should start running on the line in 2026.

HS2 Ltd chief executive Simon Kirby said the winners of the contracts would build 230km of bridges and tunnels and create thousands of jobs over the next decade.

But anti-HS2 campaigners have attacked George Osborne's decision to launch the bidding process to build the high speed rail line.

Tory MP Cheryl Gillan, a long-time opponent of HS2 whose Chesham and Amersham constituency is on its planned path, said Mr Osborne's decision to launch the bidding process was 'premature'.

You shouldn't be issuing contracts when you don't have the money

Richard Houghton of HS2 Action Alliance

'The Bill has not finished its way even through the House of Commons,' the former Welsh Secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

'Certainly the very earliest it could get royal assent - because it has also got to go through the House of Lords - would be the back end of next year.'

She added: 'I wonder whether this still is a priority for Government considering that they have cancelled other very important projects in the North such as the Midlands electrification.

'And I still worry about the stability of this project because we still don't know what the new-complexion Labour opposition is going to do.'

HS2 Action Alliance said the announcement confirmed that it is a 'political project rather than a transport project'.

The group's spokesman, Richard Houghton, said: 'You shouldn't be issuing contracts when you don't have the money.

'This was meant to be a project that was going to not only build northern economies but also create jobs for British people. If the contracts are going to the Chinese it makes a nonsense of that claim.'